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Tuesday, 26 April 2011

... A night where one DJ plays all night... But wait I hear you say! You've blogged about this before below... Well true in a way, but I'm talking about a regular night - once a month, with the same DJ.

Would it work? Would people return again and again to see the same DJ play for 8 hours or so? I'm not sure, with the choice on offer from London then why would they come back and see that one DJ? Certainly we know that the youth of today have tendency to flit about, the loyalty only reserved for the very few nights/clubs... The first night would have to be a truly legendary night to go down in history to get people back again...

What would the DJ be like? Well, they'd certainly have to have stamina, a passion for the music and an ability to read the crowd... They sound like cliches, but have a look around at nights near to you - are there any DJs that regularly play for 8+ hours? I would care to bet that the answer might be no...

Which leads onto something - many things in dance music are cyclic - they come round and round again when popular - so why hasn't playing out all night regularly come round again? Its an intriguing thought when you think about it - maybe because a headliner can't commit to spending one night a month in a regular place? Maybe no-one has the stamina any more? Maybe they can't read the music anymore?

Saturday, 16 April 2011

The power of London is awesome, after a sample of what London can offer last Sunday afternoon at Fuse down on Brick Lane I am constantly amazed and grateful for what I have on my doorstep... Fuse opened at 3pm, by 3.10pm there was a queue outside down the street, and this was for a normal afternoon, no special guests. Only in London would this happen, it would seem odd, out of place in other towns or cities apart from the exceptional parties such as Below...

The sun helps of course, and I'm looking forward to many days out in the capital in the light, it lifts the mood, raises the skirt lengths and brings out the smiles in people... Field Day, Swedish House Mafia at Alexandria Palace, Fabric, Horse and Groom, Decksavers at Public Life are all lined up, where are you going?

Thursday, 7 April 2011

Promotion is a tricky business - it was said years ago that for every 100 flyers someone handed out on the street and average of 10 people actually looked at what they were handed, and 1 person may have acted on it. With the arrival of online forums, followers and the phenomenon that is Facebook it seems promotion (events, products etc) has become easier. Yes or no?

Maybe, it has become easier for the average Mr Bloggs to promote something through the internet, but now that the average punter is wise to Facebook event invites - I must get at least 20-25 a day and ignore pretty much all of them, people have to get clever in their delivery if they want the masses at their party!

There are several approaches to getting the word out via digital media -

Facebook groups and following invites

Blog posts

Twitter updates

Forum posts

Event pages on RA

Email

An event invite has to be carefully worded to actually get people to open it, it has become the new flyer from a person on the street - spam email will be quickly deleted and generic invites on Facebook will be quickly discarded. Having an intriguing title or opening line - such as a poem or monologue representing the promoter's view may draw people into the content. There is also the possibility of creating a mysterious aura around it preceeding the first event (if required!)...

Don't discount the value of physical media - the first thing I will do to get an idea of what is going on in a city is to look for posters and flyers in hostels, music shops etc... Its a quick and easy way of getting an idea of what is on in places... Plus the sight of someone handing out a nightclub flyer on the street now is so rare he/she might have a queue of hipsters forming to get one...

Key points:

Details are needed! Where, when, who, what... Unless you are a massive label with a guaranteed following theres no way you can attract people with a 'secret' line up...

Don't go in for the hard sell to people you don't know! Immediate deletion coming up!

Give us some details about what YOU are about - another faceless promoter out to make money or do you care about the scene... Write a blog and link it...

Include a mix or two from the DJs on the night - give us a clue what the music is going to be like! No-one is going to turn down free music as well!

Lastly - give us a REASON for going - what is it about your party that is different/great/a night to remember?